男人寧走冤枉路也不願問路 50年多走1400多公里

Men are so reluctant to ask for directions that they will clock up an unnecessary 900 miles – the distance from Land's End to John O'Groats – over a lifetime, researchers say.
研究人員指出，男人因爲不願問路，一輩子會走足足900英里(約合1448.41公里)的冤枉路，相當於從英國南端的蘭茲角到北端的約翰歐格羅茨的距離。

On realising they are lost, only 6 per cent check a map or ask for help to avoid extra mileage, a survey showed.
一項調查顯示，當發現自己迷路時，只有6%的男人會去查地圖或者向他人問路，以免走冤枉路。

And 14 per cent are so stubborn that they soldier on until they find an alternative route, rather than admit they are wrong.
14%的男人很固執，他們寧可硬撐着走下去，直到找到另一條路線，也不願承認自己走錯路了。

Wrong turns and a lack of common sense means that the average British man will needlessly travel an extra 1.5 miles per month before correcting his mistake, clocking up an extra 18 miles per year.
因爲轉錯彎和缺乏常識，英國男性在迷途知返以前平均每月要多走1.5英里，每年則會累計多走18英里。

Over 50 years, that adds up to 13,500 minutes, or 225 hours, wasted needlessly pounding the pavement.
這樣白費力氣的四處奔走50年下來會累計浪費13500分鐘，合225個小時。

Of the nearly 1,000 respondents, 94 per cent said women were generally better at navigation even though men are often reluctant to admit it.
將近1000名調查對象中，94%的人認爲一般說來女性的方向感更好，儘管男人常常不願承認這一點。

One in three said they react angrily to a partner's bad sense of direction which 'typically leads to an argument'.
三分之一的人稱，自己的伴侶如果方向感很糟糕的話，他們會很生氣，經常會因此“引起爭執”。

After getting lost, 14 per cent said they refuse to stop on the basis that 'all roads eventually lead to the same place' with over half of the men surveyed guessing their poor sense of direction adds up to 20 extra minutes to their journey.
一旦迷路，14%的人拒絕停下來，理由是“所有的路最後總會到達同一地點”，超半數的男性被調查者猜測自己那不靠譜的方向感會導致他們的行程多花20分鐘的時間。

TrekAce, makers of a navigational aid for walkers, which carried out the poll, found the average British man will needlessly travel an additional 900 miles over 50 years.
這項調查由步行者導航設備製造商TrekAce公司開展，調查發現平均每個英國男性在50年的時間裏本來不必走而多走的路程達900英里。

A spokesman for the firm said: 'It's incredible to think that we waste so much of our precious time getting lost.
該公司的發言人說：“我們居然因爲迷路浪費了這麼多的寶貴時間，真是難以置信。”

'The results of this survey reinforce what many have believed for years that men are not the best navigators.
“調查結果進一步證實了許多人多年以來的認識，那就是男人並不是最好的帶路人。”

'But it also shows the extreme lengths that men are going to avoid asking for directions, or going the right way in the first place.
“不過調查結果還顯示，男人們無論如何都不願去問路或是第一時間走對路。”

'It is clear we still need a bit of a helping hand when it comes to tacking unfamiliar and even familiar territory.'
“顯然，在不熟悉的地方，即便是熟悉的地方，準備換個方向走的時候，我們還是需要那麼一點別人的幫助的。”

Vocabulary

clock up：(某一數量) 達到

soldier on：堅持着做

tack：改變航向